Logos of Ant Group and Alibaba are pictured at the headquarters of Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Oct 29, 2020. (Photo: agencies)

China’s financial regulators, including the central bank and the banking and securities watchdogs, will strengthen antitrust practices and prevent the disorderly expansion of capital, said Pan Gongsheng, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), in a media briefing that offered details on the summoning of Ant Group on Saturday.

China’s financial authorities summoned Ant Group, Alibaba's financial technology affiliate, over financial regulation issues.

According to Pan, the Ant Group has played an innovative role in developing fintech and improving the efficiency and accessibility of financial services since its establishment. As an enterprise with great influence in the field of fintech and the platform economy, Ant Group must earnestly shoulder its social responsibility, Pan said, adding that the summoning was for the purpose of better regulating and developing the online economy, and guiding and promoting its healthy development with the hope that it makes a bigger contribution to China's high-quality economic development.

(Compiled by Peng Temin)